BIBLE STUDY # 67
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
December 11, 2011

READING 1
ISAIAH 61:1-2A, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, "Who are you?"
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, "I am not the Christ."
So they asked him,
"What are you then? Are you Elijah?"
And he said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him,
"Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?"
He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'make straight the way of the Lord,'"
as Isaiah the prophet said."
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
"Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
John answered them,
"I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

We have John the Baptist again this week, from John’s Gospel, specifically from the prologue to John’s Gospel (1: 6-8), and the beginning 9 verses from the Book of Signs (1:19-28) about John’s testimony to himself.

The first thing we learn about John is that he was sent by God (verse 6). This is a divine mission. John was chosen by God for a specific vocation, just as Jesus was also sent to fulfill his own vocation. God chooses all of us; we all have a divine vocation. We are all sent to bring the light of Christ to the world. One thing to ponder this Advent: am I light or am I darkness?

John came to “testify to the light so that all might believe through him (vs. 7).” Testimony (to testify) is what we would say in a court of law. In US courts we would be sworn in with our hand on a bible while promising “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Everybody in the gospel testifies to the truth about Jesus: John the Baptist the Samaritan woman, scripture, his works, the crowd the Spirit, and his disciples. How often have we testified to the truth of Jesus?

“He was not the light, but came to testify to the light” Like last week, John the Baptist denies being the light and gives precedence to Jesus. John came to testify that Jesus is the light, he is just a witness.

Many people were expecting the Messiah to come soon, and many thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah. John the Baptist deliberately and specifically said, "I am not the Christ” (the messiah, the anointed one of Yahweh) in response to inquiries from “the Jews” in verse 19. The term “the Jews” does not refer to the Jews as a whole, but to the leadership, such as the Sadducees and Pharisees, who do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. We have to be careful not to be anti-Semitic and condemn all the Jews for not believing in Jesus; first of all, Jesus is a Jew and many of his early followers were also Jews; and secondly, there are many so called Christians who profess that they believe in Jesus, but don’t act like it.

We have a difference in John’s Gospel as compared to Matthew and Mark’s Gospels. In Johns’ Gospel, John the Baptist claims that he isn’t Elijah, but it seems to be important to Matthew and Mark to have John the Baptist fulfilling prophecy and have John the Baptist represent the return of Elijah. I would think that this would be especially true to the Jews in Mark’ and Matthews communities, especially to Matthew’s community, which was made up mainly of Jews.

John the Baptist says he is not the Messiah, not Elijah, and not a prophet. Who is he? One with a specific and unique mission form God: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord'" (vs. 23) which is reminiscent of Isaiah 40:3: “A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God.”

Isaiah 40:3 was written at a time when the Israelites were held in bondage in Babylon. When they are freed, God will lead them directly to the Promised Land, and any obstacle in their way will be smoothed; for example, “every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain will be made low” (vs. 4).

John the Baptist is proclaiming that when Jesus the Messiah arrives, he will lead us directly to the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven, and all obstacles will be removed from our path. That is, Jesus will die and rise for our sins so we can live in his grace and peace. He will smooth the way for us because he has taken on our sins so we can be saved.

In John’s Gospel, John the Baptist baptized with water for purification and preparation for a better baptism from Jesus. Last week we heard in Mark’s Gospel that the baptism of John the Baptists was for repentance and forgiveness of sins, while Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke’s Gospel states that while John the Baptist baptizes with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, a reference to Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4).

John the Baptists’ has a final claim of subservience to Jesus: “but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie (vs. 27)." In fact, John puts himself in the position of a slave, whose job it was to untie the sandals from the dirty and grimy feet of a master.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day in which we are to rejoice and to be joyful. In the first reading, Isaiah rejoices because “God is the joy of my soul;” he is “clothed with a robe of salvation” and wrapped in “a mantle of justice.” Isaiah is also a good steward. God has anointed hum (sent on a mission) to “bring glad tidings to the poor” of healing, liberty, and freedom. God is the joy of his soul, and he is sharing his joy with others.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us to “Rejoice always.” If anyone had a reason not to be joyful, it was St. Paul. He had a difficult life after his conversion. He suffered tremendously, was rejected and misunderstood. But there is reason to rejoice because Christ has paid the price for our sins and opened up the way to eternal life for us. St. Paul took his guidance and strength from the grace and power of Christ. He was always grateful and glad of what the Lord was doing in his life.

We should be people of joy. Many of you might think there is not much to be joyful about in your lives. But joy is not having things go perfectly or go our way every time; joy is not a happiness that comes from possessions, nor is it comedy; it is not feeling good about yourself nor being on top of the world. Joy comes from deep within ourselves; it is a byproduct of accepting Christ as Lord and Savior; it comes from knowing that God is there to protect, guide and inspire us; it comes from knowing that God is in charge and can do a better job then we can; it comes from knowing that sin and death no longer have control of our lives because Jesus paid the price for our sins; it comes from knowing that God loves us, blesses us, and grants us peace and joy.

I heard a story of a woman who was in hospice. She was dying but her mind was alert: she knew she was dying, and didn’t have long to live. Her family asked her if she had any last requests. She asked to be buried with a fork in her right hand. They all thought that was strange until she said, “At the nursing home, when dinner was over, and they told us to keep our forks, we knew that something better was coming.”

For people of faith, there is something better coming. Not just after our life is over, but during our life here on earth. We are joyful, not because of anything we have done, or anything we deserve, but because of what God has done for us. That should be cause for great rejoicing.



Fr. Phil